about a book

Today I decided to start a blog. People say this is a great way to gain an audience, but what exactly is an audience for a book? Is it a fan of the writer or the wrtier's work, becasue let's face it I don't see writer's being interviewed on the red carpet these days. In a society that prizes so much about the written word, it's a shame that no one really pays attention to the person who writes it. I have seen rational people, or at least I thought they were rational, go weak in the knees when they spot a celebrity. Such idolotry has been in existance since the first gladiator waged to kill his enemies in the arena for the entertainment of others, but has it gone too far? Do we really need to know the in's and out's of celebrity lives? Do we have to be privy to their every day, mundane existance, and do we feel comforted by seeing pictures of regular women without their glamorous make up? I often stand in the grocery check out line and stare at the "literature" covering the stands beside me. I try to envision the kind of person who would buy such magazines, and then I see a story about a celebrity I happen to like and I pick up the magazine and open it. I fall short of acutally buying the literary wonder, but how is it that even I, a once grounded person, gets sucked into this? The marvels of curiousity never cease to amaze me. It does not take much, but a smidgen of curiosity, to spark a desperate need to snoop into the lives of others. In the end is it just human nature, or do those sunbathed beauties in Hollywood really live a better life than the rest of us hanging out in Wal Mart's across the country? I know a celebrity's life is filled with the same cataclysms as my own, but yet I am still drawn to their problems. Except of course when their problems tend to border more on the ridiculous than the normal rant of a frustrated creative artist. But maybe creativity is the common denominator here. Aren't all creative artist's tempermental and moody because of their creative drive. At least I hope that explains my problems away. My husband is not so convinced. So the next time you read a great story, or lose yourself in a book, don't pine to get to know for the writer who carried you away with words, instead remember that an artist, whether actor, painter, or writer, only becomes an artist when someone else believes he or she has touched their soul.